Entertainment Arts & Sports Law Section

Is This The Real Life? Virtual and Augmented Reality
Wednesday, November 30, 2016 at Cardozo Law School

Annual Meeting 2017!

Join the EASL Section Today!
The section has a large, active and diverse membership, with lawyers occupying every corner of the entertainment, art and sports law fields, at every level, from law students and first-year attorneys to senior partners at leading national and international firms and senior legal and business affairs executives at multinational media corporations.

The interconnected mediums of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are quite literally transporting users to new worlds. While both VR and AR are still coming to fruition in the market and in their many fields of application, questions are already arising that lawyers need to consider and be ready to answer.

• What exactly are VR and AR, and how do they differ? • What does a standard agreement look like for a VR or AR production? • What are key practical issues to keep in mind when producing and exhibiting work in VR and AR, • How do these issue vary among fields of application (such as entertainment and medicine)?

At this program you will experience VR/AR content (Google Cardboards will be furnished*), as well as seek to answer these questions and more. An expert panel of attorneys and VR/AR content creators will offer their complementary perspectives on the current legal and practical questions attending VR and AR production, providing key insight into these exciting and still-emerging new fields. *To rececive a Google Cardboard you must be registered by Nov. 14th. Networking reception to follow.

This program is Sponsored by the Diversity Committee of theEntertainment Arts and Sports Law Section for the New York State Bar Association, Cardozo Entertainment Law Society, Metropolitan Black Bar Association and Asian American Bar Association of New York.

To register over the phone please contact the State Bar Service Center at 1-800-582-2452 | For more information contact Beth Gould at bgould@nsyba.org

PROGRAM CO-CHAIRSPamela Jones, Esq., Law Offices of Pamela Jones, New York CityBarry Skidelsky, Esq., Law Offices of Barry Skidelsky, New York City

1:20– 3:20 p.m. First Annual Television General Counsel Roundtable (2.0 credits in Areas of Professional Practice)

The Television and Radio Committee (“TVR”) of the New York State Bar Association’s Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section (“EASL”), is pleased to present its inaugural annual Television General Counsel Roundtable, part of a slate of innovative programs planned by the TVR for 2017.

To help kick-off what will be a rare colloquy among the top U.S. cable television attorneys, Moderator Eriq Gardner, Senior Editor of the Hollywood Reporter, has selected some of the most significant entertainment law cases of 2016, in order to spark a lively discussion concerning the most pressing legal and business issues confronting media and entertainment lawyers (and their clients) today, including the free-speech rights of filmmakers who transform real-life stories into theatrical films; the current battle over reshaping access to television programming via so-called over-the-top television and set-top boxes; related FCC action regarding net neutrality and the promotion of independent programming; and, the copyright implications of pre-1972 sound recordings used by television and radio today. Insights provided by the moderator and panelists on these and other issues will help illuminate current media and entertainment business practices, trends, challenges and opportunities.

Keep your eyes and ears open for the TVR’s second annual GC roundtable (planned to take place in September 2017), which will focus on online and mobile digital audio-visual media. Future program and speaker suggestions are welcome and can be made to TVR’s co-chairs: Pamela Jones (pamela@pamelajonesesq.com) and Barry Skidelsky (bskidelsky@mindspring.com).

PROGRAM CHAIRBrian Caplan, Esq., Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt LLC, New York City

3:30pm – 5:30pmCrisis Management For Celebrities (2.0 credits in Areas of Professional Practice)What may be a crisis for one celebrity may not be one for another, but there are certain events that would universally be viewed as a crisis for most individuals in the public eye. From high visibility criminal proceedings to significant civil actions and accusations in the media, this panel will explore crisis management from the perspective of the criminal defense attorney, the civil litigator, the transactional attorney, the manager and the publicist. Each has a unique and integral role in guiding the celebrity through troubled waters in a stress filled time.

5:45 p.m. Cocktail Reception (Offsite – Immediately following CLE program)To be held at Bill’s Bar and Burger, 16 West 51st Street at 5th AvenueCome and join your colleagues at this fun networking event, wine/beer and hors d’oeuvres included in Reception Fee.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Under New York’s MCLE rule, this program has been approved for a total of 4.0 credit hours in Areas of Professional Practice. This program will NOT qualify for credit for newly-admitted attorneys because it is not a basic practical skills program.

Discounts and Scholarships: New York State Bar Association members and non-members may apply for a discount or scholarship to attend this program, based on financial hardship. This discount applies to the educational portion of the program only. Under this policy, any member of our Association or non-member who has a genuine basis for their hardship, if approved, can receive a discount or scholarship, depending on the circumstances. Request for discounts or scholarships must be received prior to January 13th, 2017. For more details, please contact Lori Nicoll in writing at New York State Bar Association, One Elk Street, Albany, New York 12207 or lnicoll@nysba.org.

Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities: NYSBA welcomes participation by individuals with disabilities. NYSBA is committed to complying with all applicable laws that prohibit discrimination against individuals on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of its goods, services, programs, activities, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations. To request auxiliary aids or services or if you have any questions regarding accessibility, please contact Lori Nicoll at 518-487-5563.

For overnight room accommodations, please call the New York Hilton Midtown at 1-800-445-8667 and identify yourself as a member of the New York State Bar Association. Room rates are $260.00 per night plus taxes for single and double occupancy. Reservations must be made by Friday, December 16, 2016. You also can reserve your overnight room on the web at www.nysba.org/am17accomm.

For questions about this specific program, please contact Lori Nicoll at 518-487-5563. For registration questions only, please call the Member Resource Center at 800-582-2452. Fax registration form to 518-463-5993.

Led by the top entertainment lawyers in the business, the first evening will cover all of the basics including acquiring underlying rights, engaging the dramatists and preparing co-producer and investor offering documents. The second evening will focus on developmental productions, including enhancement agreements between commercial producers and not-for-profit theaters, as well as other agreements with key members of the creative team and licensing. Then veterans in the field will discuss emerging trends and issues, provide case studies and help producers and entertainment counsel navigate through some of the most common (and some esoteric) pitfalls of the theater business.

Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section Blog

The Blog Provides a Forum and News Source on Issues of Interest The blog acts as a new informational resource on topics of interest, including the latest Section programs and Initiatives, as well as provides a forum for debate and discussion to anyone in the world with access to the Internet. It is available through the New York State Bar Association Web site at http://nysbar.com/blogs/EASL

Diverse opinions contribute to the vitality of the law, and for every topic there are many issues to be addressed. TheEntertainment, Arts and Sports Law Journal is a forum for ideas and a repository for legal analyses and theories. The EASL Journal presents topics that EASL attorneys address on a daily basis, and provides comprehensive overviews of both large issues that affect a majority of the EASL Section membership and analyses of more specific issues that affect only a few. In addition to contributions from practicing attorneys, the EASL Journal accepts articles from laypersons involved with issues that affect many in the EASL fields. The EASL Journal is published three times a year by the Entertainment, Art and Sports Law Section and distributed to Section members free of charge.

What are Member Communities?The member communities are private, online professional networks, built on the concept of listserves that offer enhanced features such as collaboration tools and document libraries. They offer you a variety of tools to help you connect, network and work collaboratively with fellow NYSBA members.

To participate, each member has a profile based on their basic membership information. You can enhance your profile by adding your photo, professional affiliations, volunteer activities and other accomplishments. You have the option to pull information from your LinkedIn profile, or even link to your personal blog or other social media feeds.

How Can I Use It?Seamlessly integrated with nysba.org, no additional login or password is needed to enter a community. You just need to be a NYSBA member.

Just like a listserv, members of a specific community can share information with one another using email. Documents are emailed among members using links as opposed to email attachments, as attachments can be problematic with spam filters or limits on file size. Members can receive community emails as the messages are posted, or in digest form. These resource libraries have no space limitations, accept all file types, and can be organized using folders. Any member of a community can contribute to the library.

If you are a member of a NYSBA Section, Committee or Task Force, and working to develop a report, white paper, policy change or recommendation, an online community is the perfect forum for you and your colleagues. You have a dedicated space designed to facilitate an efficient and collaborative work effort.